E-Z lube axles

my 5er is a 2006. For about the first 6 years, I averaged around 5,000 miles per year. Like many, I thought the zerks were the best thing since sliced bread. I read all of the do's and don'ts. I lubed mine the safe way, wheels off the ground, rotate them slowly and pump grease very slowly. Then, one day, after about 3-4 years of using the zerks, I pulled all of the wheels off to inspect them and found one seal blown. What a mess! Everything in the wheel was covered with grease. Since then, I started doing them by hand. I bought a bearing packer which speeds up packing the bearings. All in all, since I have owned the 5er, I have replaced all of the brakes two times, the wheel bearings once, and the drums once. I think my 5er has around 35,000 miles on it and a lot of these miles were in the Rocky Mountains.

If you decide to use the zerks here is my two cents on how to do it. 1. Get the wheels off of the ground. 2. Use a good grease recommended by your axle manufacturer. 3. Pump very slow, 1 or 2 pumps while rotating the wheel. 4. The first time you do this, be prepared for a long time to do this and a lot of grease to fill up the void in the drum. 5. After filling, make sure to leave some expansion space around the lock nut before putting the cap back on. 6. Pull the wheels off once a year to inspect.

If you do all of this, you may find that it is just as easy to forget the zerks and pack them by hand. One blown seal changed my mind.